Mercury No Basket
by Air Siren
Summary: When Mercury stops Coco from beating up Team CRDL, he suggests a different way to settle the score. Basketball!
1. The Bet

"Russel!" Cardin shouted as he passed the ball to the mohawked man. Catching it, He dribbled his way forward before being stopped at the three point line by his defender, Velvet Scarlentina.

'This situation is so freaking weird.'

 _Three Days Ago:_

"Hey, Winchester!" CRDL's leader immediately got blindsided by a sucker punch before he could even turn around.

"Cardin!" Russel shouted running over to check on his fallen leader. Looking up at his assailant, he found himself becoming pale as he came face to face with the leader of CFVY.

"He-hey... Coco..." Russel said as Cardin slowly sat up rubbing his face.

"Shut it. I heard you boys were picking on Velvet again." Coco lowered her sunglasses to glare at CRDL.

"Who the hell said that..." Cardin growled as he sat up. "We left that freak alone after our first beating, just like you wanted."

"Shut up, Cardin." Sky growled at hisleader.

"Okay, bitch." Coco sighed as she stood up straight. "First off, Velvet isn't a freak. If you call her that again, I'll do worse than your legs. Secondly, I find it doubtful that someone like you knows how to restrain themselves."

"I think everyone needs to calm down." Everyone looked over to see a silver haired boy walk into the conversation.

"And, who are you?" Coco asked raising an eyebrow.

"Name's Mercury, and I couldn't help overhear your conversation." Mercury chuckled. "As much as I like seeing people get the crap kicked out of them, I'd rather see a much more even fight."

Coco laughed as she put her hands on her hips. "So, what, you want to help them fight me?"

"Oh, no." Mercury held up his hands. "I want to put this fight on more even grounds. Maybe make a game out of it."

"What do you mean?" Dove chimed in.

"I'm curious." Coco said. "What do you have in mind."

"Basketball. Easy to play, and it's honestly a lot more fun then beating a weakling to the ground." Mercury's comment got an annoyed grunt out of Cardin. "If we win, you don't touch these losers for the rest of the year AND you owe me a favor."

"And if I win?" Coco asked, curious.

"Well, you get to continue beating on the four stooges here, plus I'll owe you a favor. Sound fair...?"

Coco thought for a minute. "Well, I suppose that's fair... Though you should know... I played basketball at Signal."

"I'm not worried." Mercury smirked.

"Very well. We'll gather our teams and meet in the gym in three days." Coco said.

"Sound like a deal." Mercury said

"Don't we get a say in this!?" Cardin exclaimed.

"No." They both said in unison. They shook each other's hands, and as Coco walked off, Mercury turned to CRDL with a smile. "Let's go round up a team then shall we?"

* * *

 **Honestly, I just want to have RWBY characters play basketball. Leave a review and I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can. The following chapters will be longer.**


	2. Gathering the Dream Team

"So what's the plan?" Cardin asked Mercury.

"We play ball, beat Coco, and boom." Mercury shook his hands in an over-the-top manner to emphasize his last word.

"Easier said than done." Russel said. "We need at least 12 people to make a full team."

"And we have five people right here." Mercury waved him off. "Six, since I'm sure can get my partner on the team."

"Oh, goody... Halfway there." Cardin shook his head before pounding his fist on the table. "Who are you, anyways. You come barging into our business and get us roped into some game."

"As I said, I'm Mercury Black. I'm here for the Vytal Festival."

"So why help us?" Sky asked.

"Not out of kindness, I'm sure." Dove muttered.

"Truthfully? I'm bored. The Vytal Festival is still months away and aside from the dance in a few weeks, I've got nothing better to do."

"So we're just here to entertain you!?" Cardin said, an edge in his voice.

"Yeah. Basically." Mercury sat up, causing Cardin to flinch. "Okay, so here's the plan. Let's split up and get ourselves some teammates. From what I've heard, not many people like you guys here in Beacon so go recruit from other schools."

CRDL exchanged nervous glances with one another, before Mercury chimed in. "It's either this or Coco beats your face in." With that CRDL dispersed, leaving Mercury alone in the room. "Oh man..." Mercury shook his head in a fit laughter. "This is gonna be so much fun..."

* * *

"Let's see... Teammate, teammate." Cardin looked around at the people walking past him. So far none of them caught his eye. All of them were small girls or lanky dudes. He needed to find someone like him.

Someone big.

Someone strong.

Someone intimidating.

"Hey, guy with the mace!" Cardin turned around to be greeted by a larger man with dark skin and green hair, a large grin plastered across his face. "Sorry to disturb you, but can I just say that your weapon looks rad as Shawcross!" Cardin could only stare in awe at the large man. "That's a titanium bladed heavy mace, yeah?"

"Th-that's right." Cardin said, tripping over his words.

"Sweet. Not everyone appreciates heavy weaponry anymore, so it's always refreshing to see someone else with one. I got this old thing." The man pulled out a large greatsword, swinging it around like it was nothing while he talked.

"Name's Sage by the way. I'm visiting from-"

"Basketball?" Cardin managed to get out, interrupting Sage.

"Huh?"

"Do you... Play basketball?" Cardin asked slowly.

"Yeah, actually." Sage said as he put away his sword. "I'm part of the Haven Hornets back at home."

"Do... We..." Cardin was stunned by his luck. "Me and my team... We are having a game in three days... Do you want to play."

"Sure!" Sage exclaimed. "Do you want me to bring one of my teammates along too? He's on the Hornet's team, too."

"Yes!" Cardin was on a roll. Not one, but two actual players with basketball experience were going to join them. He wondered if his team was having as much luck.

* * *

"You're joking."

Lie Ren stared at Sky Lark. Sky didn't like taking orders from anyone who wasn't Cardin so he had ignored Mercury's advice completely. "After all you put Jaune through... You expect me to play basketball with your team? So I can watch you 'not' get what you deserve."

Sky stared silently at the stoic before responding. "Yes." Ren glared at Sky, not saying a word. "So, is that a no?" Ren did not move or speak. "You want me to leave, right?" Nothing. "Right." Sky stood up and left the locker room. Now Ren could shower in peace.

* * *

Dove sighed. So far he had been rejected by three different people he approached with the intent of recruiting, and now he sat alone on a park bench, watching a random student from Atlas play his trumpet. He was good, masterful even. The sound stifled Dove's worries and put his heart at ease.

Finally, the Atlas student lowered his trumpet, tipping his hat to Dove when he applauded. "Thanks for that. It's not often I get a respectful audience outside of Atlas' jazz clubs."

"Thank you for the show." Dove said in return with a smile. "I used to play the saxophone before I came to Beacon."

"Really? We'll have to jam some time, then." The boy nodded to himself in thought. "I overheard you were looking for some people to play basketball with. Care if I join?"

"Can you play?" Dove asked, widening his eyes in surprise.

"Used to play when I was a kid, so I'm a bit rusty, but yeah, I should be cool." The boy held out his hand. "Flynt Coal."

"Dove Bronzewing." Dove smiled as he firmly grasped Flynt's hand. "A pleasure."

* * *

Russel wasn't an arrogant person, but he liked to think of himself as the most resourceful person on his team. Where he could only assume his teammates would wander aimlessly around campus to look for players, or in Sky's case, just approach anyone because why the fuck not, he stood by the courtyard where students often played street ball.

In front of him was a single hoop, with two players on court. One of the players was a girl who wore a beanie, one eye covered by her hair, while the other was an older man with black hair, a six o' clock shadow, and the breath of an alcoholic. And he was figuratively whipping her ass. Every time Beanie Girl got the ball Drunk Man would steal it and toss the ball through the hoop easily.

Eventually, the girl got fed up and stormed off the court, passing Russel before he could even ask her anything.

"Oh, come on!" The drunk man slurred. "I was just geddin warmed up!" The man swayed before turning his head to Russel. "You. Boy. Mohawk. Mohawk boy... Come here and play me."

"Uh..."

"Now!"

And so Russel found himself on the court as the man tossed him a bracelet. Russel stared down at it in confusion before the old man spoke up. "It's an aura suppressant. It'll prevent people like you and I from being able to leap from one end to the court to the other. Now we can enter physical competition that normal people enter and not utterly dominate... One of the few things Atlas has done right..."

Not wanting to anger the man, Russel slipped the bracelet on, and suddenly it felt like the gravity around him was suddenly increased.

"Cool, huh?" The man asked as he spun the ball on his finger. "Let's go. If you get a single point on me, you win, but I win if I get three..." The man pulled a flask from his back pocket and took a chug.

"Right... And who are you?" Russel asked.

Qrow smirked as he tossed the ball to Russet. "They call me Qrow." The second Russet tossed the ball back, Qrow passed him.

Russel had seen him move fast when

he played against the beanie girl, but this speed was ridiculous! Further inspection showed that the man wore an aura suppressant just like him! He was just a natural speedster!

Russel could only watch as Qrow twirled through the air, dunking my the ball through the hoop with one hand before turning to Russel with a smile. "Your ball, kid."

Determined, Russel picked up the ball as Qrow returned to the middle of the court. Russel tossed the ball to Qrow. Qrow tossed back. Russel immediately moved back as Qrow swiped for the ball.

"Oho!" Qrow whistled. "You're pretty good, kid. What's your name."

"Russel." He said, dribbling the ball away from the drunk. "Russel Thrush."

"Good to know." Qrow threw his hand up the moment Russel went for a shot, knocking the ball out of his hands. "Try again later."

Russel cursed as he scooped up the ball, only to immediately find himself pressured by the larger Qrow. Cursing, Russel backed off before tossing the ball between his legs, dashing past Qrow as he continued to drive the ball to the hoop. As he went for a layup, his eyes widened in horror. 'How!?' Qrow leapt into the air and knocked the ball out of his hands, knocking Russel to the ground. 'How was he already at the hoop!?'

While Russel sat on the gravel floor, Qrow scooped up the ball and simply tossed it in with ease. "Come on, kid. You still got one last shot..."

Nodding, Russel slowly got back to his feet. "Right... Sorry."

Qrow smiled at Russel. "I like your style, kid. You seem like a good person. How old are ya?"

"S-seventeen..." Russel said as he went over to midcourt. "I'm seventeen."

"Seventeen, huh..." Qrow nodded as Russel tossed him the ball. "She is a bit younger than you, but I think you'd get along with my youngest niece quite well. Are you single."

Russel rose an eyebrow. Was the druncle really trying to set him up with his niece? Creepy. "Just pass the ball."

Qrow smirked as he threw the ball once more into the boy's hands. After they were done here, he may even have a fun conversation with him.

* * *

"No."

"Come on, Em!"

"Don't call me that! And the answer is still no!"

"You don't have anything better to do!"

"Mercury. I'm not going to play basketball just so you can get some bimbo to owe you one."

Mercury was on his knees, at a loss for words. He wondered to himself if he was a fool for expecting her to go along with it.

"Let's play, Emerald."

The two criminals turned their heads to see their boss walking into their rooms. "You are actually for this!?" Emerald exclaimed.

"Sure." Cinder said with a smirk. "After all, we are all just a bunch of..." She stopped for a moment in thought. "Fun loving students."

"All right! I knew you'd come through for me boss!" Mercury gave a thumbs up to Cinder. "I'll go tell the guys and see where they are at with recruiting. I'll be back!"

"Well..." Emerald watch as he jogged out the door. "He's excited."

"Of course he is." Cinder smiled as she sat on her bed. "All the preparations for our next move are complete. We should unwind and... Enjoy school life."

Mercury walked down the hall looking at his scroll. According to Team CRDL, they all together have eleven players. Just one more until they'd be good to go.

While he was looking over his teammates dossiers to get an idea of their capabilities, he found himself running into someone he knew. "Oh, sorry." Mercury said. "Didn't see you there." Mercury frowned at them as they silently stared at him. "You heard I'm putting together a basketball team?" They nodded. "You want to join, don't you?" Mercury frowned as they nodded again. "You aren't going to take no as an answer... Are you?" They flashed Mercury a knowing sneer as he let out a defeated sigh.

"Alright. I guess that's fine."


	3. Pregame Hype

"Let's get ready to rumble!" Peter Port yelled, his voice filling the stadium. "Tonight, we are coming to you live from Beacon Stadium to bring you a game you do not want to miss. I'm Peter Port and with me as always is my stalwart loyal companion: Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck! It's great to have you here, Bart!"

"It's great to be here, Peter." Oobleck said, nodding at his co-commentator. "Tonight, we will be observing a 'basket ball' game, and what a game it will be! Both teams are comprised of students of different schools and backgrounds. One would think the Vytal Festival started early."

"Indeed!" Peter bellowed. "Now let us get into our starting line ups. The first team is the fan favorite! Comprised mostly of Beacon students, this team is a powerhouse that I'm sure will not disappoint. Introducing: the Caffine Café!"

The song Caffine begins to play as Oobleck introduces the starting players. "On point guard position we have Velvet Scaretina, who I am told is the reason that this game is even being held! The shooting guard is Fox, whose blindness never deterred his destructive determination in demolishing demons. Small forward is Jaune Arc, a surprising choice to be sure. Power forward is the captain of the team, Coco Adele, and in center we have Yatsuhashi!"

"A formidable lineup to be sure," Peter said."but our second team is no slouch! Here is: the Olympus Epics!"

"Their point guard is Sky Lark, the cold hearted, and empty headed spearman of CRDL. Their shooting guard is Russel Thrush, the Ursa boy wonder. On small forward we have the crimson croc, Scarlet Davidson. In the power forward position is Cardin Winchester, also known as Mister Mace. And finally, their leader Mercury Black as center! Game time is only a few hours away!"

"And everyone is on the edge of their seats!" Peter said.

Cardin flicked the tv off. "They are making a surprisingly big deal about this..."

"You can thank Coco for that." Mercury said as he put his feet up on Cardin's bed, getting a growl from the mace wielder.

"She does have a flair for dramatics." Russel agreed. "I didn't even know we had a basketball stadium!"

"Either way, everyone is here." Mercury smirked as he looked over the other eleven people cramped in the same room. "Now then... Let's talk some strategy!"

* * *

 **Next time, the tipoff! And it will be a hell of a match! The game will be different from the normal Basketball games considering the usage of semblances, and that will cause it to be much more of a battle of wits between Coco and Merc as they work to counter each other's players. Leave a review and I'll be seeing you in the first half!**


	4. The Opening Play

"Game time, guys." Mercury said as he walked with his team towards the stadium. They all wore white jerseys with black trimming and dark shorts, with the exception of Mercury who wore track pants. Mercury had the number 11 on his jersey. "All right, everyone remember the plan?" Mercury asked.

"Yeah," Cardin, who wore the number 00 jersey said, "though you never told us what to do after the first few minutes of the game."

"If you stack a plan to much they tend to fall apart." Mercury said. "It's best to only plan for smaller events that work towards the big finale, rather than the end itself."

The team made their way into the stadium taking their places on their bench. Across from them was Coco's team, who wore brown jerseys with yellow trimming.

"I got to say." Coco said walking over to them. She wore the number 01 jersey. "I honestly didn't expect you to put an entire team togeather."

"Hey, I challenged you." Mercury smirked. "I'm not about to whimp out before the game even starts."

"Admirable, but you'll be rethinking that when my team knocks you down a peg."

"I look forward to it." Mercury said, his face not betraying his emotions. Coco stared at him for a bit before turning away to return to her team.

Both teams began their warmups and it was soon time for the game to begin.

"It's time to start the match between the Caffine Cafés and the Olympus Epics!" Oobleck's voice rang. The crowd cheered as the teams lined up.

Scarlet, number 7, held his arm awkwardly as he watched the others interact. Mercury calmly shook hands with the opponents, wincing as Yatsuhashi, number 22 gripped his hand tightly. Cardin and Sky, number 14, laughed to each other as Jaune, number 44, stared them down, while Russel, 69, was watching Velvet, 13, turn almost completely pale at the packed stadium. Finally, Ozpin walked between the two teams, a coffee mug in on hand and a ball in the other.

"I want a clean match." Ozpin said. "Each of you have been given an aura supression bracket that will greatly restrict the power you have as huntsmen in training. Semblances will be allowed, so long as they aren't used to hurt or cripple another. Are both teams ready?" A nod from Yatsuhashi and Mercury as they both crouched to prepare for the tip off.

"Do not think me to be just muscle." Yatsuhashi warned.

"And don't think me for just some guy." Mercury said.

 **Q1**

 **Epics Time Café**

 **000 10:00 000**

Ozpin tossed the ball into the air, and the moment it hit the apex, Mercury and Yatsuhashi leapt. Yatsuhashi widened his eyes as Mercury launched from the ground, far faster than he anticipated, reaching the ball with ease and tipping it to his team.

"Epics win the tip off!" Port exclaimed

"Get to our hoop!" Yatsuhashi shouted as the ball flew into Russel's hands. As the Cafés turned to the defensive, Mercury held up his hands in a T. M

"Time out called by the Epics!" Oobleck shouted. "It seems they are substituting Mercury immediately after the tip off."

"Running already?" Coco asked as she watched Mercury walk toward his bench. Mercury flashed her a smile before silently joining his team.

The night before...

"Sage, you will be our main center, but I'll be starting first." Mercury said.

"Huh?" Sage leaned forward on Russel's bed. "Why?"

"I don't doubt your skill, but if I'm doing the tip off I can guarrentee we'll get the ball first."

"Aren't you confident." Sky said, scowling.

"I am." Mercury said. "That said, I don't want to show off everything I can do unless needed. However..." Mercury pointed in the air. "... I do want us to gain an early lead. If we can lead by six-nothing right out the gate, then we'll have the pace of the quarter in our favor, not to mention to moral blow it'll deal on the opponent. So Sage, you'll be taking over primarily for defense while we'll leave the scoring of the points to..."

"The game is back in motion as the Epics enter the game. Sage has taken Mercury's place on the court as the Epics' Center."

Sage held the ball in his hands just out of bounds as he scanned the court, looking for and open player. "Sky!" Sage tossed the ball inbounds to the spearman who was immediately put under the defensive pressure of Velvet.

"I won't let you score!" She shouted as Sky smirked.

"I'm not intending to shoot!"

"Lark passes to Winchester!" Port announced. "He is immediately met by Adele, who does not seem to keen on letting him make the first points!"

"Better back down, Winchester!" Coco growled as she swiped at the ball, only for it to be brought out of her reach.

"It should be you who backs down, or else!" Cardin's eyes flared and Coco suddenly found her body become rigid as Cardin dashed past her, dunking the ball before anyone else had a chance to stop him.

"There is Cardin applying his semblance to his advantage!" Oobleck said. "Cardin's capable of 'intimidation.' He can pressurize his killing intent, directing it at a single persons for maximum effect, which can cause temporary paralysis or over a wide area too affect everyone to a lesser degree."

"Coco..." Fox put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine..." Coco said breathing heavily. "It's just more intense than I'd thought it would be. I can see why Velvet never said anything about him before... It's almost painful how scared he's capable of making you..."

Fox nodded. "For now, let's return the favor."

"Yes... Yatsu!" Coco caught the ball her teammate threw inbound, making her way down court coming to a stop in front of Cardin.

"You won't make this next basket, you know..." Cardin smirked.

"Really? You got lucky with that little shot. It won't work on me twice." Coco growled. "Fox!" Coco passed the ball to her blind companion, who managed to easily bypass Russel and leapt towards the hoop. Once more, Cardin activated his semblance this time in a widened area, forcing Fox to draw his shot slightly in caution, giving Sage enough time to leap up and smack the ball out of Fox's grip, into Russel's for the rebound.

Everyone sprinted back to the other hoop in chase, Velvet beating Russel to the paint. Fox muttered apologies under his breath as Russel passed the behind him into Cardinal's grip, who went up to take three point shot.

"I won't let you!" Coco shouted as she leapt up to block.

"Idiot..." Cardin said with a smirk as he lowered his arms, dribbling past her.

"Cardin passes Coco with an expertly timed fake, but finds Yatsuhashi waiting for him beneath the hoop!" Oobleck shouted.

"I won't let you score!" Yatsuhashi said calmly, a bead of sweat running down his head.

"You don't have a choice." Cardin said as his semblance hit Yatsuhashi full blast, forcing him to back down as Cardin tossed the ball into the basket from the freethrow line.

"Damn..." Coco said, breathing heavily before glancing at the scoreboard.

 **Q1**

 **Epics Time Café**

 **004 9:39 000**

"They're controlling the pace..." Coco said to one of her teammates. "... I thought you were overreacting..."

"I told you. Cardin's semblance is intense when you first experience it." They said.

"But can you stop it?" Coco asked.

"Yes... After all, he's the reason I joined the team." They growled.

"Okay... I'll leave him to you then. We can't let them control the game like this! Stop their next shot!"

"The ball is tossed in to Fox," Port commentated, "Who makes his way down court, meeting Russel at the three point line. Fox passes to Jaune and he dribbles past Scarlet! Sage is running late to the block as Jaune goes up for the dunk."

"Sorry Jauney boy not on my watch!" Cardin laughed as he released his semblance, the other members of the Cafés relenting.

"I've been in fear of you since the beginning of the the year." Jaune said as he neared the hoop. "I'm not afraid..." Jaune slammed the ball through the hoop.

"...of you anymore!"

 **Q1**

 **Epics Time Café**

 **004 9:20 002**


	5. First Quarter Part 1: The Angry Cardinal

**Q1**

 **Epics Time Café**

 **004 9:20 002**

"I'm not afraid of you anymore!" Jaune shouted, having shoved the dunk in.

"You..." Cardin growled before receiving a slap on the back of his head from Sage.

"Come on, Winchester!" Sage said not stopping to look at Jaune. "Their score is meaningless if we can keep getting points on our own."

"Amazing dunk!" Oobleck said adjusting his glasses. "Jaune Arc may be a bottom of the barrel student, but his athletics are still nothing to joke about. Winchester passes the ball to Thrush, who is immediately pressured by Velvetina. Thrush passes back Winchester, coming face to face with Arc!"

"You think you can stop me, Jauney-boy!?" Cardin snarled. Jaune simply glared at Cardin who flared his semblance directly at Jaune. He takes a step forward to drive past, only for Jaune to swipe at the ball, causing Cardin to stumble backwards.

"I told you! Your semblance won't work!" Jaune crouched low as he rose his arms to guard Cardin.

"Cardin, pass!" Sage called as he pushed himself infront of Yatsuhashi.

"You think this is enough to make me pass, Jauney-boy!? You're immune to my semblance, so what? Big deal! You'll still just weak trash!" Cardin crossed over, passing Jaune as he lept for the hoop. "I am Cardin goddamned Winchester! I won't be stopped by the likes of you!"

"Then you'll be stopped by me!" Velvet said as she came up from behind, knocking theball into the board, causing the ball to rebound into Yatsuhashi's grip.

Cardin stood in shock as the rest of his team ran to stop the fast break, Velvet standing in front of him. "If my junior can get past his fear of you then so can I!"

Yatsuhashi passed to the unguarded Coco who released a jump shot from medium range, sinking the two pointer easily making the shot.

"Cardin!" Mercury shouted from the bench. "Get your head into the game! Sage! Tighten your defense! Scarlet! Sky! Switch positions and marks!"

 **Q1**

 **Epics Time Café**

 **004 8:56 004**

Sage tossed the ball to Russell, who drove it down court, stopping just short of Velvet before passing it to Scarlet. Fox stepped towards Scarlet, closely guarding him.

" _This is Scarlet," Sage said as he gestured towards the red haired boy standing awkwardly in the corner of the room. "He's on both Team SSSN and the basketball team with me."_

 _"You're joking." Cardin said flatly. "Why would you bring one of your team's benchwarmers?"_

 _Scarlet rose a single brow in confusion. "Benchwarmer? I may be small, but..."_

Scarlet went up for a shot as Fox leapt to block it, his eyes widening as Scarlet never released the ball.

'A fake!?'

Scarlet waiting for Fox to fall back down to release the ball, sinking the three point basket.

 **Q1**

 **Epics Time Café**

 **007 8:48 004**

"Sorry!" Fox shouted as Yatsuhashi tossed the ball into Velvet. Velvet turned to drive it down court only to be shocked by Scarlet right behind her as he stripped the ball from her hands, dashing past her to sink the layup.

 _"I'm the team's ace."_

 **Q1**

 **Epics Time Café**

 **009 8:45 004**

"Damnit!" Coco bit her thumb as she watched Scarlet. He's staying close to velvet and Fox to steal the ball the moment Yatsuhashi tossed the ball in.

"Yatsu!" Fox shouted as he dashed past Scarlet. Yatsu tossed the ball in an arc to avoid Scarlet intercepting it as it landed in Fox's hands at half court. "I can hear you coming!" Fox said as he passed the ball to Jaune just as Scarlet ran up behind Fox.

Jaune passed to Coco in the paint, who immediately went up for a layup, her eyes widening as the towering Sage leapt up to block her, smacking the ball out of bounds.

"Out of bounds! Cafés ball!" Oobleck announced. "That was a ferocious block, courtesy of Sage Ayana! Both Sage and Scarlet are members of their school's basketball team. Sage is the Guardian Ace, who's defensive skills are a thing to behold!"

"And Scarlet! The offensive juggernaut who can pierce through any defense." Port exclaimed

"They're being really embarrassing..." Scarlet said.

"Stay strong! Game face now..." Sage said as Yatsuhashi passed the ball to Fox.

"Alistair passes immediately to Adel who drives past Winchester with ease. Ayana goes forward to stop her, only for Adel to pass between his legs to Daichi. Ayana spins around to leap and block him, but Daichi passes right back to Adel who lays in the basket! Amazing teamwork overcoming one of the best defenders in the Academy Circut!"

 **Q1**

 **Epics Time Café**

 **009 8:11 006**

Cursing under his breath, Sage tosses the ball to Russel who drives down court with him to the three point line. With Velvet blocking his path, Russel nods to Sage who runs to the left of Velvet. As Russel darts to the left, Velvet gets floored by the solid screen as Russel leaps for the finger roll layup, before being bumped by Yatsuhashi. Russel smirked as he watch the ball go in to the hoop at the sound of the referee's whistle.

"Contact on the shot will lead young Thrush to shooting a free throw to make this a three point play."

Russel manages to make the free throw with ease.

 **Q1**

 **Epics Time Café**

 **012 7:58 006**

"Don't lose pace!" Coco shouted as she tossed the ball to Fox who dribbled down court.

"We need those points back." Fox said.

"I won't let you make a three point shot..." Scarlet warned. Fox began to go left, setting up Scarlet to get stuck by a screen set byJaune, allowing Fox to shoot in the three pointer.

 **Q1**

 **Epics Time Café**

 **012 7:48 009**

"Not slowing down the pace, Ayana tosses the ball in to Davidson who passes immediately to Thrush, who then passes to Winchester! Winchester drives towards the basket, Arc tightly guarding him as Winchester goes for the basket!"

"Winchester passed midair behind him to Ayana, who lays in a basket unguarded!" Port said, raising boos from the crowd.

 **Q1**

 **Epics Time Café**

 **014 7:30 009**

"Stop their run!" Coco shouted. "Fox! Get serious!"

Nodding as the ball got tossed into him, Fox dribbled down the court, stopping at the tight defense from Scarlet. Fox tried to crossover to throw off the redhead but to no avail. Darting to the left, Fox growled as Scarlet circled past Jaune's screen. Scarlet wasn't going to fall for that again.

Suddenly, Fox passed the ball over to Jaune, Cardin having been trapped by a screen from Yatsuhashi, allowing his to drive to the basket and go for a layup. However, Sage jumped forward, his massive body throwing off his shot as the ball bounced off the backboard.

Sage spun on his feet to leap for the rebound only for Fox to leap in front of him and toss the ball back in.

"Contact on the shot!" Port shouted. "Alistair gets one free throw to make this a three point play! Alistair easily sinks the free throw!"

 **Q1**

 **Epics Time Café**

 **014 7:06 012**

Russel caught the ball when it's quickly thrown in, quickly passing to Scarlet at the halfway point. Scarlet skidded to a stop when Fox suddenly stepped in his path. Fox swiped his hand out knocking the ball out of Scarlet's hands, Velvet dashing past the two to scoop the ball up, tossing it in from medium distance for two points.

 **Q1**

 **Epics Time Café**

 **014 6:58 014**

"Damn… That guy is good." Mercury muttered biting his thumb. If this kept up he'd need to make another substitution. He watched as the ball was passed back in to Russel before turning to Dove. "So what's the deal with that Fox guy?"

"He's blind." Dove said matter of factly. "Like me, he has the ability to use a sort of echolocation to 'see', but unlike me, it's a natural ability of his. Mine's just a semblance."

Mercury observed a skilled pass to Sage followed by him sinking a layup before turning back to Dove. "So he has more nasty tricks up his sleeves?"

"More than likely. I'm not sure what his semblance is."

The sound of the scoring buzzer tore the two away from their conversation. During their talk, Yatsuhashi had scored for the Cafés.

 **Q1**

 **Epics Time Café**

 **016 6:39 016**

"So what should we do?" Dove asked Mercury as the ball was tossed in.

Mercury remained silent, watching as Russel passed to Scarlet. After failing to pass Fox, Scarlet passed back to Russel who quickly tossed a pass to Cardin.

Sage, who managed to push his way infront of Yatsuhashi waved his arms, open for a pass. Cardin primed himself to pass the ball only to stop at the sound of Jaune's voice.

"What? You realized you can't get past me?"

Glaring at the blond, Cardin charged forward, knocking the blond to the ground before priming himself up to shoot. Then the referee blew their whistle. "Charging foul! Winchester!"

Cardin glared down at Jaune, getting angrier and angrier as Jaune grinned sheepishly. Tossing the ball to Yatsuhashi. Cardin stormed down court, his anger flairing as he took position with the rest of his team.

"Cardin, you need to…"

"Shut up." Cardin snarled at Russel.

From up in the stands, the old man watched the game, leaning on the railings as he took a swig of his flask. He watched as Jaune got the ball, easily bypassing the enraged Cardin to score a layup, only to be blocked by Sage. As Sky caught the rebound, the old man looked over his shoulder to see Glynda Goodwitch staring at him with her arms crossed.

"I see even in public events you get drunk." Glynda said disapprovingly.

"To be fair, everyone else is getting drunk." The old man said gesturing to everyone drinking from the red cups of stadium beer.

Rubbing her forehead, Glynda glared at him. "Qrow… Why are you here?"

Qrow held up a finger as he watched Cardin once again fall for Jaune's taunting, missing a shot that Coco easily rebounded. He then turned to Glynda. "Isn't it obvious?" He slurred. "I'm here to enjoy a game before I go back into the field."

Glynda eyed the players on the bench. "Is it because-"

"Not just that." Qrow interrupted. He narrowed his eyes as he watched Russel guard Scarlet. "I just want to see what these kids can do."

Right as he finished talking Foc successfully faked out Scarlet and sunk a three point shot.

 **Q1**

 **Epics Time Café**

 **016 5:34 019**

Suddenly the referee blew his whistle. "Time out! Epics!"

As the teams went to their benches, Mercury met Cardin halfway.

"Cardin, you're out."

Cardin, as Mercury predicted, flipped his shit, picking Mercury up by the collar. "The hell I am! I'm not going to lose to Jauney-boy!"

"This isn't about you versus Jaune." Mercury said as he pushed Cardin off him. "This is about the Epics versus the Cafés. Sit out till halftime and cool your head. We need your semblance for the late game anyway.

Cardin growled as he tightened his fist. "Fine." He said venomously.

Nodding, Mercury turned towards one of the benched players.

"Flynt. You're on."

"It's about time." The boy took off his fedora and pocketed his sunglasses as his grin grew. "Let's get this game jammin."

* * *

 **And that's a wrap for this chapter! Next time: the First Quarter ends! If you enjoyed or disliked, leave a review!**


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